Man arrested after backpacks left near site of Boston Marathon finish line

By Matt PearceLos Angeles Times

Not a perfect finish for the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings.

On Tuesday evening, Boston police evacuated Boylston Street near the marathon's usual finish line and took an unidentified man into custody after two suspicious backpacks were left lying on the street.

Shortly before the evacuation, local media posted video of a barefoot male wearing a black veil and a floppy black hat marching toward the marathon's finish line carrying a large, heavy-looking backpack while shouting, "Boston strong! Boston strong!"

"Boston strong" is, of course, the slogan popularized after last year's April 15 bombings at the marathon, which killed three people and wounded at least 260; the two bombs used in that attack were pressure cookers concealed in backpacks.

Earlier Tuesday, the finish line had been packed with mourners marking the anniversary of the attack.

But as of Tuesday evening, police had cleared the site to examine two abandoned backpacks.

After investigating, Boston police decided to safely blow up the bags “for precautionary reasons,” according to a statement made on the police’s Twitter account.

Police Supt. Randall Halstead later told the Associated Press that the man arrested had a rice cooker in the backpack. Halstead said the man faces charges of possessing a hoax device, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct.

BOSTON--It seems, at times, that nearly everyone in Boston knew someone who ran in last year's Boston Marathon, who watched it, or who responded to the bombs that went off at the finish line on Boylston Street.

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Rep. Aaron Schock billed taxpayers at least three times for a total of more than $14,000 in private air travel last fall, including for a trip to a Chicago Bears football game, The Associated Press has learned.